Court sacked Rio de Janeiro governor Wilson Witzel for corruption in handling pandemic

A special tribunal composed of judges and deputies unanimously dismissed the governor of Rio de Janeiro, Wilson Witzel, for corruption during the management of the coronavirus pandemic in the Brazilian state.

The decision culminated in a lengthy political trial that opened in June last year in the Legislative Assembly in Rio de Janeiro against Witzel., who was already suspended from office by order of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ).

The special mixed tribunal responsible for deciding the The ‘indictment’, made up of five regional deputies and five judges, found Witzel guilty of irregularities in various hiring and embezzlement of public resources intended to fight COVID-19.

Rio de Janeiro is one of the Brazilian states most affected by the pandemic, with nearly 44,500 deaths and more than 740,000 cases of coronavirus, according to official data.

Witzel’s dismissal confirms, with character definitely, Lieutenant Governor Claudio Castro in office until the 2022 elections. However, he is also suspected of corruption.

The collegiate body will now decide if this deprives Witzel of his political rights, which could prevent him from running in new elections for a maximum period of five years.

Witzel, former judge and former naval rifleman, was elected Governor of Rio in 2018. He campaigned on the promise to use a “strong hand” against crime and under the banner of zero tolerance against corruption.

At first he positioned himself as a ally of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, although he later distanced himself until he becomes an adversary of his government.

After the outbreak of the pandemic, Witzel was the target of police operations after his role in the alleged misappropriation of public resources began to be investigated. planned the construction of field hospitals to house patients with covid-19.

He was also accused of orchestrating a Corruption and bribery “criminal organization” of a businessman in the health sector, who has won several emergency contracts to deal with the pandemic.

Based on these surveys, Opposition MPs called on Rio de Janeiro assembly to initiate impeachment process which finally ended this Friday with the aforementioned decision.

“Vilifying ethics, morals and the fundamental principles of good public administration, the accused conducted his relationship with public affairs with utter recklessness, detachment and sordidity, affecting all citizens of Rio de Janeiro», Said Judge José Carlos Maldonado during his vote.

Witzel has always denied the charges against him and he declared himself the victim of a “persecution” promoted, according to him, by the upper echelons of the state. He also called his dismissal a “coup”.

“I was not submitted to a rule of law court, but to a inquisitorial court “The former governor said on Friday on his social networks.

River, the Brazil’s third most populous state, with an estimated 17.3 million people, has suffered for decades from political corruption.

As Witzel, five of his predecessors in Rio governorate were also investigated for corruption: Wellington Moreira Franco (1987-1991), Anthony Garotinho (1999-2002), Rosinha Matheus (2003-2006), Sergio Cabral (2007-2014) and Luiz Fernando Pezão (2014-2018).

With information from EFE

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